The Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) has turned to FIFA just hours before the highly anticipated rescheduled match between ES Sahel and US Gafsa, originally from Round 13 of the Tunisian League.
The match, which is set to take place tomorrow [Wednesday], has stirred significant controversy regarding the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and the appointment of the match referee.
FIFA had initially stipulated that the rescheduled match should take place under the same conditions as the original encounter, which meant that VAR would not be available.
However, both ES Sahel and US Gafsa had called for VAR to be implemented for the crucial match, leading to a dispute within the Tunisian Federation.
After deliberations, FIFA ruled that the match could proceed with VAR, but only if the consent of the other clubs in the competition was obtained.
To resolve the matter, the Tunisian Federation reached out to all top-tier clubs involved in the league, seeking their formal approval for the use of VAR.
The clubs were given a deadline of 6 PM Tunis time to respond to the request, leaving little time for final decisions to be made.
In addition to the VAR debate, both ES Sahel and US Gafsa have raised objections over the appointment of referee Mahrez Maliki to officiate the match.
The two clubs have expressed their dissatisfaction with the choice of referee, further intensifying the tension surrounding the match.
With the match scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, the situation remains fluid as the Tunisian Federation awaits the responses of the other clubs regarding the VAR request.
